The coming of the wired city? The recent development of cable in Britain

Abstract

Since the end of the 1980s, broadband cable television has finally begun to take off in many British cities. With the capacity to carry interactive services as well as television signals, broadband cable has been seen as central to the emergence of the 'wired' or 'informational' city in Britain. Such a development is increasingly widely seen by planners and other public authorities as having important implications for local economic and social development. This article examines the available evidence on the recent emergence of broadband cable in Britain, emphasising the uneven pattern of development which is becoming apparent. Some of the potential implications of this uneven pattern of development are addressed